BERLIN (Reuters) – The storm clouds that had been gathering for weeks over Borussia Dortmund lifted suddenly following their 1-0 Champions League semi-final first-leg win over Paris St Germain on Wednesday, with a spot in next season’s top European club competition in the bag.
Coach Edin Terzic and his team had faced mounting criticism for weeks for their erratic domestic form, but they can now breathe a sigh of relief. They will go into next week’s return leg with a slim advantage but equally importantly having earned Germany a fifth place in the competition for next season.
With three league games left to play, Dortmund are fifth, five behind fourth-placed RB Leipzig and 12 ahead of Eintracht Frankfurt in sixth, ensuring they are the beneficiaries of the additional spot.
Their domestic form this season has not matched their European success and with only one win in their last four Bundesliga matches, they looked set to miss out on next season’s Champions League, especially after last week’s 4-1 demolition by Leipzig.
They sensationally lost last season’s league title on the final matchday.
But the atmosphere at the Signal Iduna Park on Saturday will be anything but subdued when they host Augsburg, with the prospect of a Champions League final and a spot in next season’s competition enough to put a smile on every Dortmund fan’s face.
“We covered up a miserable Bundesliga season with a good Champions League campaign,” said Dortmund defender and Wednesday’s man-of-the-match Mats Hummels.
“We are not shutting our eyes to this Bundesliga season but obviously we now want to go to Wembley.”
The Champions League final in London could be a repeat of the 2013 edition when Dortmund lost to Bayern Munich in an all-German clash. The Bavarians on Tuesday drew 2-2 against Real Madrid in Munich in their first leg.
Bayern, who saw their 11-year league reign come to an end when Bayer Leverkusen secured the title last month, are in second place but also preoccupied with an ongoing search for a successor to coach Thomas Tuchel, who will leave at the end of the season.
They face in-form VfB Stuttgart, who are third five points behind, and in high spirits after securing their Champions League participation for next season following Dortmund’s win that earned the fifth spot.
“Our VfB will play on European football’s biggest stage next season,” said club chairman Alexander Wehrle. “Qualifying for this event which promises magical European Cup nights for all fans is the result of excellent work from all involved.”
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Toby Davis)
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